Raines, Buchholz still at the top of regional rankings
GAINESVILLE — After a rocky first week that saw nine of the top 20 and four of the top 10 teams go down to defeat, week two of the high school football season saw more of a return to normalcy.
Raines (Jacksonville) remained in the top spot of The Prep Zone Power Poll this week after pounding Baldwin, 52-14, in their home opener. The Vikings (2-0) received nine of the 12 first-place votes to stay No. 1, but face a tough road test this Friday at 11th-ranked Ed White (Jacksonville).
Buchholz (2-0) is still No. 2 in the all-classification regional rankings after rolling past city rival Gainesville, 43-6. The Bobcats, who picked up two first-place votes, are back at Citizens Field against city rival Eastside (Gainesville).
Mandarin (Jacksonville) moved up a spot to 3rd. The Mustangs (2-0), who are off this week, had no problem with rival Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), blanking the Stingrays 50-0.
Columbia (Lake City) is up three more spots to 4th. The Tigers (2-0) came home after a first-week upset win at No. 9 Bolles (Jacksonville) and handled Lakewood (St. Petersburg), 24-6. They collected the final first-place vote and face another tough test this week at home against unbeaten No. 14 Madison County.
Two teams are tied for fifth.
DeLand (1-1) dropped two spots from a week ago, but took St. Frances Academy (MD) to the wire before losing, 49-35. St. Frances is the number one team in Maryland and currently second nationally according to MaxPreps. St. Augustine (2-0) rallied late to stay unbeaten with a 28-22 win over No. 20 Nease (Ponte Vedra), which is 0-2 after setbacks at St. Augustine and 13th-ranked Creekside (St. Johns) in the opening week.
Defending FHSAA Rural state champion Hawthorne dropped to 7th after struggling to an 8-0 win over Alachua County rival Newberry, followed by No. 8 Vanguard (Ocala) and Bolles (1-1), which evened its record after a 21-14 win at Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches).
Bradford (Starke) rounds out the top 10 for the second week in a row after slipping past RV Baker County (Glen St. Mary), 16-9.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) is the big mover this week, up five spaces to No. 15 after edging then-No.12 University Christian (Jacksonville), 14-8. The Christians (1-1) dropped down five to 17th.
Ponte Vedra (0-2) suffered a 28-21 loss in overtime at No. 16 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville). They stay in the poll at No. 19, as does Nease, who falls five spots this week but stays in at 20th.
There are no teams moving into the poll from week one and also none that fell out of the rankings from last week.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Be Well Fitness.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2026 FOOTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (9) (2-0) – 237
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (5A) (2) (2-0) – 224
3. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (5A) (2-0) – 205
4. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (1) (2-0) – 184
5T. DeLand (6A) (1-1) – 180
5T. St. Augustine (4A) (2-0) -180
7. Hawthorne (1A) (2-0) – 162
8. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (1-1) – 161
9. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-1) – 136
10. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (2-0) – 135
11. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-0) – 98
12. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (6A) (1-0) – 96
13. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (2-0) – 84
14. Madison County (1A) (2-0) – 76
15. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (1-1) – 60
16. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-0) – 57
17. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (1-1) – 36
18. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (0-1) – 30
19. Ponte Vedra (5A) (0-2) – 29
20. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (5A) (0-2) – 24
Also receiving votes: Fort White (1A) (2-0) – 22; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (2-0) – 18; South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (2-0) – 15; Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (2-0) – 11; Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (2-0) – 9; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (5A) (1-1) – 8; Middleburg (4A) (1-1) – 7; Dunnellon (3A) (2-0) – 6; The Villages (3A) (1-0) – 6; West Nassau (Callahan) (SSAA) (2-0-1) – 6; Yulee (4A) (2-0) – 6; East Ridge (Clermont) (6A) (2-0) – 4; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (1-1) – 2; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (2-0) – 1; Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-0) – 1.
